About Contracts and Contract Policy
Competitive purchases without benefit of public bids or a recognized contract are limited to $5,000. The University recognizes four types of contracts, which, generally speaking, enable departments to order materials in excess of the $5,000 limit without further bidding:
- (1) Massachusetts Higher Education Consortium Contracts (MHEC), a purchasing consortium created for, and used by, most institutions of higher education in Massachusetts;
- (2) Campus Contracts, created by the UMass Amherst Procurement Department for use by the Amherst Campus;
- (3) State Contracts, created by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for use by all agencies of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts; and
- (4) University Contracts, created by the UMass Purchasing Council for use by all six UMass campuses.
Contracts make use of the University's buying power by committing one or more types of products to one or more vendors. In exchange, the contract participants receive special pricing based on the vendor's anticipation of business to be realized during the contract term.
Departments are encouraged to use contracts, regardless of the dollar amount to be spent, to realize savings, to support the intent of the contract, and to meet Board of Trustee requirements.
Note that a University contract should always take precedence over any similar contract that might be offered by any other contracting entity.
Access to the Most Commonly Used Purchase Contracts
Complete List of MHEC Contracts
Complete List of State Contracts
Processing Requirements for Purchases, 02/2008
Procurement Department
Room 407 Goodell Building
University of Massachusetts AmherstTel: (413) 545-0361
Fax: (413) 545-1643For questions or comments regarding this site please contact:
lankowski@admin.umass.edu
© 2004 University of Massachusetts Amherst. Site Policies.
This site is maintained by the Procurement Department
Last updated: May 15, 2008